DR Congo: Ebola Outbreak - May 2017

Glide: EP-2017-000048-COD

Overview

On 11 May, the Ministry of Health of the DRC informed WHO that of five laboratory samples tested, one tested positive for Ebola virus at the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) laboratory in Kinshasa. (WHO, 12 May 2017)

On 24 May, WHO issued a donor alert, requesting US$10.5M for the initial 6-month budget to support the Government in strengthening the response, and to coordinate the support of major UN, NGO and International Organizations, and partners in the Global Outbreaks Alert and Response Network. (WHO, 24 May 2017)

On 23 May 2017, no new confirmed or probable EVD cases were reported. One suspected EVD case was reported from Muma Health Area in Likati Health Zone. The last confirmed case was reported on 11 May 2017. WHO, 24 May 2017)

On 2 July 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The announcement comes 42 days (two 21-day incubation cycles of the virus) after the last confirmed Ebola patient in the affected Bas-Uélé province tested negative for the disease for the second time. (WHO, 2 July 2017)

The Ministry of Health in Yemen, in collaboration with WHO, are closely monitoring the epidemiological pattern of the ongoing reported cases of meningitis in Yemen. Since the beginning of the year up to 8 July 2017 (Epidemiological week 27), a total of 2,146 suspected cases have been reported through the electronic early warning surveillance system (eDEWS) in the country (Please see the graph).

The Regional Director is pleased to present this report on the work of WHO in the African Region for the period January 2016 to June 2017. The report outlines the significant achievements made under the six categories in the 12th General Programme of Work in supporting health development in Member States in the African Region. It reflects contributions from WHO country offices and the Regional Office, including the Intercountry Support Teams.

• As at June 2017, 977,746 South Sudanese refugees call Uganda home of which 296,409 arrived from 1st January 2017; 275,037 from DRC and 52,388 from Burundi. Children constitute 60 percent of the refugee population.

• The Uganda Solidarity Summit on refugees and host communities hosted by President Yoweri Museveni and the UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez was successfully held from June 22-23, 2017 with current pledges of $347.5 million by the international community.

Jordan is conducting a training workshop for the launch of event based surveillance (EBS) for acute respiratory infections. The workshop to be conducted in Amman, Jordan, from 24 to 27 July 2017 will target public health officers responsible for surveillance and response at governorate level and health professionals from all secondary and tertiary level hospitals in the country.

July 14, 2017 - The creation of an emergency hub in Nairobi by World Health organization has been well received by the Kenyan government and partners.

The initiative was recently introduced in Nairobi by Dr Ibrahima-Soce Fall, the WHO AFRO director for Emergencies when he met the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for health Dr Cleopa Mailu, MOH officials and various partners. These included CDC, Office for coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA), World Bank, UNICEF, USAID, and UNHCR, International Federation for the Red Cross and Red Crescent and GIZ.

Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is one of the largest and most longstanding annual mass gathering event in the world. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health has issued Health conditions for travelers to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) – health requirements and recommendations in connection with performing hajj in 2017 (1438 H)

This weekly bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. WHO AFRO is currently monitoring 39 events: three Grade 3, six Grade 2, six Grade 1, and 24 ungraded events.

This week’s edition covers key ongoing events in the region, including the grade 3 humanitarian crises in South Sudan and Ethiopia and outbreaks of hepatitis E in the Lake Chad Basin (Chad, Niger and Nigeria), malaria in Burundi, dengue fever in Côte d’Ivoire, and visceral leishmaniasis in Kenya.

Kinshasa, 7 July 2017: With half of its 26 provinces affected by armed violence, ethnic conflict, diseases and natural disasters, all this within a volatile regional context and amid historically low levels of funding, the first six months of 2017 have proven that the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains an unrelenting humanitarian crisis that is having a suffocating impact on millions of people.